Concern about rowdy and sometimes violent incidents involving juveniles near transit stops in downtown Pittsburgh has been building through the year. But the Pittsburgh Public School system has been forced to have more students ride and transfer through the Port Authority public transit downtown, because of a shortage of drivers at school bus contractors.

"The goal is to be able to minimize -- not maximize -- the number of kids that have to rely on Port Authority buses for transportation. And if it is required that we need more school bus drivers, we need to find more school bus drivers," said Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto. "Ideally, just like every suburban school, you want to give a kid an opportunity to go from school to home, without having to go downtown, boarding a bus, getting a transfer, and then walking."

That was the mayor's message to city schools Superintendent Anthony Hamlet, who visited the mayor's office for an unrelated meeting Thursday morning.

"Listen, it's not just people downtown that are concerned about this, it's the parents. And it's not the most ideal way of getting a kid from school to home," Peduto said. "I feel for the families that are trying to get their kids home safely and directly from school. And for some people that are downtown that may feel that this would lend itself to the potential for future incidents.," Peduto said.

"We're constantly reevaluating what's going on, having a conversation with the Port Authority about, and see(ing) if we can get some additional connecting buses to move kids from out of downtown," Superintendent Anthony Hamlet told Pittsburgh's Action News 4.

Meanwhile, Peduto says Pittsburgh police are working with the Port Authority to better coordinate where city officers and transit police are deployed when large numbers gather at downtown transit stops. He also said Hamlet and Police Chief Cameron McLay will meet again later this week to discuss the issues. Hamlet said he also met with McLay earlier Thursday morning.

Hamlet said the school district is "Also exploring other ways and avenues of diverting (students from) downtown, so our kids get to school and back home safe."

"We have discussed this issue with Pittsburgh Public Schools and other local officials," Port Authority spokesman Jim Ritchie wrote in an email to Pittsburgh's Action News 4. "We're currently waiting to receive information from the district that would help us better understand its service request and identify possible solutions."